May '09 Newsletter (2)
 
Hello to everyone Out There
 
I've been fiddling my expenses. I hope your May is brightening up and that no one has ruffled your feathers (annoyed you). This is what I have for you this week:
 
LOT book endorsed by Steven Pinker - preview now on our website and on Scribd
Testing times - what do tests really mean
Out There Political Manifesto - you read it here first. Discuss.
Magic Whiteboard (really it does exist!)
Free Elementary MP3s and Elementary self-study lessons on Scribd
 
The fantastic LOT book that Jaime and Jae have created for us (all about the vagaries of the English language) is now on Scribd and a preview of it is in my blog for you to read. Check it out here:
 
http://www.languagesoutthere.com/articles/For-Want-Of-A-Better-Word-endorsed-by-Steven-Pinker
 
More and more teachers 'teach to the test'. But are tests a good idea and what do they say about us.  I have my own personal experiences and have written some of them down on my blog:
 
http://www.languagesoutthere.com/articles/freeenglishtest
 
In India many English teachers are low level English speakers and many classes have no English spoken in them, they simply teach to the test and use rote learning techniques with their students.
 
Many English learners in India don't develop the ability to speak in general off topics that they have been trained in. Ask yourself, are language exams as important as being able to speak and understand and, in this day of Skype, podcasts, MP3s and email why don't we just record ourselves speaking to show we can do it to a certain level?
 
It's a bit naughty to fiddle expenses when people trust you to do the right thing. MPs in the UK have been caught red handed by the Daily Telegraph newspaper and now British people are furious. There is a wave of people talking about applying to be MPs at the next election, all of them independent and looking for a better way to run politics and the country.
 
Is this the end of the 'old politics'? Lots of new political parties will probably be created in the UK and some newspapers are telling people how to start their own party.
 
I thought I would contribute to the debate by writing my own Out There Political Manifesto which I have published on my blog.  Use it as a tool to debate the same issues in your classes or online with your practice partners.  Maybe even write your own and send it to me.  Time for a change, anyone?
 
http://www.languagesoutthere.com/articles/Got-a-manifesto-put-it-to-the-testo
 
Education blogger Kirsten Winkler noticed something on our website and thought it was cool.  The Magic Whiteboard, which I have suggested could be a great way to help take your classes Out There into the real world. Check out the page on our site and her blog:
 
http://www.kirstenwinkler.com/the-magic-whiteboard/
 
Yeah, I've been mucking around online again.  Our whole SS (self-study) Elementary course with Spanish instructions is now on Scribd, check out:
 
http://www.scribd.com/doc/15684913/Elementary-English-speaking-lesson-for-Skype-and-social-networks-Alguna-ves-ha-instrucciones-en-espanol
 
The free MP3s for the listenings are on PodOmatic:
 
http://languagesoutthere.podomatic.com/
 
Did they really say that?
 
"If I could meet my mother and marry her, I would.
I would be with my mother now, if she weren't
my mother, as sick as that sounds." - Shia LaBeouf
 
Until next time...
Cheers
Jason